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Talk:Doomsday Is Tomorrow/@comment-5174536-20121229205257
All I can say is...WOW. WOW. Did I say WOW? I bow to the altar of Kenneth Johnson, writer/director/producer. This episode had EVERYTHING. Epic scope, huge stakes, amazing camera work, amazing writing, existential philosophy, flawed heroes (who else is addressing PTSD in a 70s show?). I knew I was in for a wild ride when I saw shades of Independence Day, V and who knows how many other sci-fi properties when we see the dr. broadcasting in languages all over the globe. That instantly raised the stakes and I believe it was ahead of its time. On top of that, I get a bold, though somewhat sloppy, dolly move which trucks into Jaime's TV, then a lateral dolly to Jaime at the stove, a helluva camera move. Now, I can suspend disbelief to accept the fact that this Dr. Cooper was able to develop such a monumental destructive device under the noses of all the world's governments. I can accept the fact that the producers blatantly ripped off the HAL 2001 computer. Because if all that's necessary to get this story up and running the way it did, then so be it. When Jaime and the gang 1st learn of Satori's intent to detonate a bomb and they mention Steve is unavailable, I love Jaime's stepping up to the plate, none of the scared little girl high- pitched stammering, just resolution in her voice. But part of me, the male chauvinist part I guess, was thinking, man, the scale of this story makes it a job for Steve. But when I saw that dolly shot of Jaime running through the forest mine field, I changed my tune instantly. What a BEAUTIFUL shot!!! I was completely sold on THIS Jaime Sommers, the one who took control when the male Russian spy couldn't hack it. And I loved the character trait of PTSD in Dmitry, yeah, agents are sometimes FLAWED! Excellent. And again, Jaime talking to Alex at the end of the episode? THIS is the Jaime that I've been waiting for, no high pitched histrionics here...this Jaime is ready for battle. The ONLY thing that couldve made this episode better is a cold open where we see Dr. Cooper, ten years younger, perhpas delivering a speech to the UN or a nuclear consortium, calling for peace and being rebuked. Opening credits and then we pick up the episode with onscreen text that reads TEN YEARS LATER (ten years would be a plausible amount of time to develop the Alex 7000 and the doomsday device). This way, Dr. Cooper doesnt just appear out of the blue with such monumental capabilities. Outside of that, I tell you, just update the fashion, the film stock and the set design and this episode would play just fine today in my opinion. Hands down, my favorite episode of either SMDM or TBW. And I haven't even started Part 2 yet. However, I sincerely doubt Part 2 or any of the following episodes will be as good as this.